1homas C 8lchmond

1

E.E. Scbattscbneider's Intenxlty, Vlxlblllty, lrectlon unJ Scope:
Critique

I Introduct|on

ln Lhe prellmlnary sLages of SchaLLschnelder's 'loteoslty vlslblllty ultectloo ooJ 5cope (1957
9J4) he suggesLs LhaL Lhe sLraLegy of pollLlcs ls relaLed Lo Lhe meanlng of pollLlcs" pollLlcs he
clalms becomes a meanlngless vlbraLlon" lf lL ls assumed as a passlve process of pollcy
formaLlon 1he ldea LhaL pollLlcs lnvolves some sLraLegy may seem lnLulLlve and even an lmpllclL
assumpLlon of plurallsL Lhlnkers presldenLlal elecLlons ln Lhe uS embody a hlgh degree of LacLlcs
ln Lhe form of fundralslng and communlcaLlon whllsL Lhe formlng of lnLeresL groups lmplles
organlsaLlon WhaL separaLes SchaLLschnelder however ls Lhe noLlon LhaL sLraLegy ls always
presenL ln Lhe formaLlon or nonformaLlon of acLual pollcy (8achrach and 8araLz 1962 949) ln
order Lo undersLand ouLcomes ln llberal democraLlc sysLems Lhen lL ls preclsely Lhe meanlng of
pollLlcs LhaL SchaLLschnelder suggesLs ls cruclal (SchaLLschnelder 1937 934) 1hls paper wlll seek
Lo evaluaLe Lhe exLenL Lo whlch SchaLLschnelder's LhoughL remalns cruclal for undersLandlng
llberaldemocraLlc pollLlcs Loday lL wlll do so largely by conslderlng llotollst Lheorles and Lhe
works of oLher scholars

II Def|n|ng o||t|cs Conf||ct Strategy and |ura||sm

CenLral Lo SchaLLschnelder's LhoughL ls Lhe noLlon of 'confllcL' as LhaL from whlch Lhe pollLlcal
Lakes leave ln 8achrach and 8araLz Lerms lf Lhere ceases Lo be confllcL over a glven 'lssue' Lhe
pollLlcal becomes redundanL
1
(Ledyaev 1998) lurLhermore lL ls Lhe exploltotloo of confllcL ln
Lhe dellberaLe pursulL of power" LhaL whllsL noL dlsplaclng noneLheless 'casLs a new llghL' on
LradlLlonal devlces for galnlng power ln a democracy (SchaLLschnelder 1937 934) lndeed whllsL
lL may be Lrue LhaL Lhere exlsL Lhousands of cleavages wlLhln a glven pollLlcal sysLem Lhe
amounL of whlch reach Lhe pollLlcal sLage ln Lhe form of confllcL are proporLlonaLely few
(SchaLLschnelder 1937 934) 1he connecLlon beLween Lhls lasL polnL and pollLlcal sLraLegy ls
slmple Lhe relaLlvely small represenLaLlon of confllcLs and cleavages ln Lhe pollLlcal arena ls noL
random nor ls lL a maLLer of Lhe mosL 'lmporLanL' lssues Laklng precedence raLher Lhe

1
AlLhough as ls lmplled ln Lowl Lhere ls an lnherenLly sLraLeglc mode of pollLlcs LhaL operaLes wlLhouL
reference Lo confllcL pollLlcal 'nonacLlon' ls noL always Lhe 'nonacLlon' Lowards confllcL
1homas C 8lchmond

2

represenLaLlon of confllcL ls hlghly selecLlve and based fundamenLally on pollLlcal organlzaLlon
whlch lLself has a blas ln favour of Lhe explolLaLlon of some klnds of confllcL and Lhe
suppresslon of oLhers" (SchaLLschnelder 1937 933936) lor SchaLLschnelder (1937 936)
organlzaLlon ls Lhe moblllsaLlon of blas"

AL Lhls polnL lL may be useful Lo lnLer[ecL wlLh a brlef conslderaLlon of SchaLLschnelder's noLlon
of pollLlcal sLraLegy ln comparlson Lo oLher Lheorles of llberal democraLlc pollLlcs 1he ldea LhaL
Lhe lssues whlch Lake place on Lhe pollLlcal sLage are sub[ecL Lo organlsaLlonal blas even ln Lhe
prellmlnary way skeLched ouL Lhus far appears conLrary Lo Lhe classlcal plurallsL concepLlons of
pollLlcs (Ledyaev 1998 2) 1he llkes of 8oberL uahl (1938 464) for example have re[ecLed Lhe
exlsLence (ln Amerlcan pollLlcs) of a conLrolllng group less Lhan a ma[orlLy ln slze whose
preferences regularly prevall ln cases of dlfferences ln preference on key pollLlcal lssues" and
who do so by means oLher Lhan democraLlc consensus lor proponenLs of Lhls Lheory Lhe facL
LhaL noL all confllcLs are glven equal aLLenLlon does noL dlmlnlsh Lhe democraLlc merlLs of a
pollLlcal sysLem we may explaln Lhe domlnance of some confllcLs ln merlLocraLlc or MarxlsL
Lerms buL Lhls does noLhlng Lo undermlne Lhe Jemoctotlc vlablllLy of Lhe sysLem (8 A uahl
2009) ln essence Lhe concepL of 'plurallsm' poslLs LhaL democracy does noL have Lo llve up Lo lLs
ldeal ln order Lo be 'falr' and fallure Lo achleve ouLcomes cannoL emplrlcally be ascrlbed anLl
democraLlc causes LhaL Lhe 'rullng ellLe' model lmplles (uahl 2009)

III 1he Strateg|c Nature of Conf||ct

1he quesLlon Lhen ls where Lhls leaves SchaLLschnelder's noLlon of organlsaLlonal blas ln llberal
democracles lf Lhe classlcal plurallsL model ls correcL Lhe selecLlvlLy of lssues falls Lo be
explalned vla a hollsLlc explanaLory framework buL lnsLead would be besL addressed on an ad
hoc basls llrsL SchaLLschnelder musL be undersLood as vlewlng confllcL noL merely as someLhlng
lmpllclL ln pollLlcal debaLe and pollcymaklng buL as parL of a sLraLegy ln an lnherenLly dynamlc
sysLem power ln pollLlcs ls noL Lo be slmply equaLed wlLh Lhe wlnners lo teqotJs to tbe ootcome
of o coofllct buL ls excerclsed ln Lhe framlng of Lhe pollLlcal agenda as such (SchaLLschnelder
1937 939) ln general Lhls suggesLs LhaL Lhe ldea of 'confllcL' has an lnLrlnslcally pollLlcal naLure
beyond belng Lhe mere 'referenL ob[ecL' of pollLlcal debaLe


1homas C 8lchmond

3

1haL whlch glves confllcL lLs lnherenLly pollLlcal naLure ls Lhe exLenL Lo whlch lLs 'scope' ls llnked
Lo pottlcolot pollLlcal acLors Lhere ls an eLernal sLruggle" SchaLLschnelder clalms beLween Lhe
confllcLlng Lendencles Loward Lhe prlvaLlzaLlon and soclallzaLlon of confllcL" (SchaLLschnelder
1937 941) 1hls baLLle beLween confllcLlng preferences Lowards Lhe level of soclal awareness a
confllcL aLLracLs ls slgnlflcanL lL lmplles LhaL Lhe lssues LhaL do appear on Lhe pollLlcal arena
have a hlgh level of 'lnLenslLy' (SchaLLschnelder 1937 937) lndeed Lhe very locus of Lhe sLraLegy
concerns Lhe way ln whlch Lhe varylng degrees of 'lnLenslLy' among lssues resulLs ln Lhe
subordlnaLlon of one confllcL by anoLher palred wlLh Lhe facL LhaL Lhere are llmlLs Lo how many
confllcLs can approprlaLe Lhe pollLlcal sLage (SchaLLschnelder 1937 939) 1he problem here for
classlcal plurallsLs ls LhaL such a subordlnaLlon ls noL represenLaLlve of Lhe preferences of
broader socleLy buL of Lhose wlLh Lhe ablllLy Lo moblllze ln an organlsed fashlon and engage ln
shaplng Lhe pollLlcal agenda (8achrach and 8araLz 1962 949) lor example pollLlcal acLors
concerned wlLh Lhe balance of power on a sallenL lssue may seek Lo llmlL lLs scope by dlsplaclng
lL wlLh anoLher lssue whose cleavage has an assymeLrlc relaLlonshlp Lo Lhe former Lhls noLlon of
'dlrecLlonallLy' ls cenLral Lo undersLandlng Lhe relaLlonshlp beLween scope and sLraLegy
(SchaLLschnelder 1937 942)

1he fundamenLal quesLlon of pollLlcs SchaLLschnelder laLer clalms ls how can people geL
conLrol of Lhe governmenL" (Adamany 1972 1322)? Clearly for Lhls Lo occur Lhere musL be some
way LhaL Lhe publlc can become lnvolved ln Lhe lmpllclL sLraLegy embodled ln Lhe scope of
confllcL Powever as SchaLLschnelder observes Lhe pressure group sysLem wlLh lLs buslness
and upperclass blas does noL provlde a way for Lhe people Lo geL conLrol of governmenL"
(Adamany 1972 1323) 1he sLrong emphasls SchaLLschnelder puLs on Lhe way ln whlch Lhe scope
of confllcL ls Lled Lo money power class and access Lo Lhe medla ls fundamenLal Lo
undersLandlng Lhe dlfference beLween Lhe formal and lnformal funcLlons of democracles ln
uahl's 'ctltlpoe of tbe kolloq llte Lhe crosscuLLlng cleavages beLween Lhe mulLlLude of albelL
powerful 'groups' or buslnesses means LhaL one could noL concelve of a 'ma[orlLy' of ellLes
whose preferences are always meL aL Lhe expense of oLhers (8 uahl 1938 460470) under
SchaLLschnelder's concepLlon Lhe moblllsaLlon of blas does noL conslsL of Lhe aggregaLlon of
prlvaLe lnLeresLs raLher lL ls Lhe very way LhaL prlvaLe confllcLs domlnaLe Lhe publlc scene aL
Lhe expense of Lhe poLenLlal naLlonallsaLlon of confllcLs (SchaLLschnelder 1937 942)



1homas C 8lchmond

4

IV 1he Lndur|ng S|gn|f|cance of Schattschne|der

ueflnlng pollLlcs ls cenLral Lo undersLandlng pollcy ouLcomes and for Lhls reason
SchaLLschnelder's LhoughL remalns slgnlflcanL MosL lmporLanLly Lhe ldea LhaL power ln pollLlcs
can be excerclsed coverLly and lmpllclLly wlLhouL neccesary recourse Lo a 'rullng ellLe' model
paves Lhe way for more complex Lheorles of democraLlc pollLlcs ln facL one mlld crlLlclsm one
could make of 'loteoslty vlslblllty ultectloo ooJ 5cope noneLheless agrees wlLh lLs baslc loglc
1heodore Lowl's noLlon for example LhaL Lhe dlfference beLween 'Lypes' of pollcy deLermlnes
Lhe naLure and exLenL of pollLlcs assumes much of Lhe argumenL dellneaLed Lhus far (Lowl 1964
682) Powever Lowl's clalm LhaL 'speclallnLeresL' or 'dlsLrlbuLlve pollcy' ls accompanled by a
parLlcular Lype of pollLlcal sLraLegy ls worLh observlng accordlng Lo Lowl such pollcles generally
lmply Lhe moblllzaLlon and lnfluence of lnLeresL groups as well as Lhe subordlnaLlon of lssues by
lncumbenLs concerned largely wlLh prlvaLe concerns (Lowl 1964 682) WhaL ls noL neccesarlly
Lhe case here however ls Lhe exlsLance of confllcL or cleavages 'dlsLrlbuLlve' pollcles generally
avold produclng slgnlflcanL cleavages due Lo Lhe relaLlvely small cosLs per caplLa of an lndlvldual
pollcy (Lowl 1964 690) uesplLe Lhls Lhe aggregaLlon of Lhese pollcles ls slgnlflcanL and lnvolves
speclflc sLraLegles agendas and dlsproporLlonaLe levels of power wlLhln socleLy (Lowl 1964
690) ln Lhls sense lL ls lmporLanL Lo expand on SchaLLschnelder's deflnlLlon of pollLlcs by
conslderlng Lhe way power ls excerclsed desplLe Lhe absence of cleavages or a dlscernable
'rullng ellLe'

V Conc|us|on

ulLlmaLely SchaLLschnelder's 'loteoslty vlslblllty ultectloo ooJ 5cope as a preamble Lo 1be
5eml5ovetelqo leople remalns slgnlflcanL ln lLs ablllLy Lo explaln how power and sLraLegy are
excerclsed ln llberaldemocraLlc sysLems Cne of Lhe maln accompllshmenLs as has been noLed
LhroughouL Lhls paper ls Lhe way ln whlch SchaLLschnelder dlsplaces Lhe noLlon of a 'rullng ellLe'
as Lhe cenLral opponenL of plurallsL Lheory WhllsL Lhere ls more Lo power and pollLlcs Lhan
slmply managlng Lhe scope of confllcL SchaLLschnelder's work malnLalns a hlgh level of
explanaLory capaclLy for pollcy formaLlon


1homas C 8lchmond

3

lbllogruphy

Adamany uavld 1he ollLlcal Sclence of L L SchaLLschnelder A 8evlew Lssay 1be Ametlcoo
lolltlcol 5cleoce kevlew 1972 13211333
8achrach eLer and MorLon S 8araLz 1wo laces of ower 1be Ametlcoo lolltlcol 5cleoce kevlew
36 no 4 (1962) 947932
uahl 8oberL A CrlLlque of Lhe 8ullng LllLe Model 1be Ametlcoo lolltlcol 5cleoce kevlew 32 no 2
(1938) 463469
uahl 8oberL A lnLervlew by MargareL Levl A coovetsotloo wltb kobett A uobl (2009)
8achrach and 8araLz clteJ lo Ledyaev valerl ower and ConfllcL MANcl1 wotkloq lopets 1998
129
Lowl 1heodore ! Amerlcan 8uslness ubllc ollcy CaseSLudles and ollLlcal 1heory wotlJ
lolltlcs 1964 677693+693+697+699+701+703+703+707+709+711+713+713
SchaLLschnelder L L lnLenslLy vlslblllLy ulrecLlon and Scope 1be Ametlcoo lolltlcol 5cleoce
kevlew 31 no 4 (1937) 933942